Car Detailing Step #2 - Cleaning/Rejuvenating the Paint

After washing off the foreign matter from your car, it's time to clean the paint. Over time, stuff gets embedded into your paint job such as dirt, oxidation, or mildew. Then you have swirl marks, water spots, and surface scratches. Just washing your car won't solve this, you need to actually remove all these things from the paint.

There are many products that serve different cleaning purposes. Clay bars lift imperfections from the surface whereas other solutions buff a microscopic layer of paint off, taking dirt and scratches with it.

I will be using Meguiar's Three-Step Deep Crystal Polish System (minus step three, for reasons that I will explain later).


Step one is a dedicated paint cleaner that buffs and lifts oxidation and dirt off the paint job. Working in small sections, I would wax-on the solution, then buff it off before it dried. Then moved on. It worked really well - three years of oxidation and mildew (believe it or not) easily came right off. The cloudiness of my red paint was cleared right up.



Step two is doing the same thing over again, but with their paint polisher. Much like a lotion moisturizes dry hands, the polish adds necessary oils for a rich, deep paint surface. And let me tell you, my car feels as smooth as glass. The application process is identical to the paint cleaner. Wax on, wax off.

By this point, your arms might be tired. Either take a break before moving on or save step three for the next day, like I did. Just make sure that you either cover your car or park it in the garage. A rainstorm won't help your cause as you still need to seal the results with a quality wax.

*Note: These two steps don't have to be competed every time you wash your car. Twice a year will suffice.